About The Publican

From the team behind Blackbird and avec comes this homage to beer, pork, and fish. Executive Chef Paul Kahan and Chef de Cuisine Cosmo Goss have developed a network of proveyors to supply the restaurant with hand-selected, sustainably-harvested fish and seafood as well as sustainably-raised heirloom pork to anchor a rustic menu of simple, eclectic fare. The extensive international beer list, developed by partners Eduard Seitan and Terry Alexander, features 100 or so ales, lagers, stouts and ciders by the bottle, 12 of those available on tap. Like Blackbird and avec, The Publican is a design partnership from the James Beard Award-winning team of Thomas Schlesser and partner Donnie Madia.

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Private Dining

Publican Quality Meats, located just across the street from the Publican, can accommodate up to 38 for a Seated Dinner, up to 75 for a Cocktail Reception, or up to 24 at the Chef's Prep Table.
The Publican can accommodate up to 125 for seated luncheons, or evening Buyouts and 175 for Receptions.

Love the staffs, the environment was good, drinks were good as well. Not a fan of the pork rinds, non spicy and yet can’t taste the real flavor of the pork rinds. whatever they put on the pork rinds didn’t help to bring the flavor out. 3 type of aged ham were good, dislike the goat butter, should use the goat cheese and add some pickles Charcuterie plate was a good choice. Pork Belly was not available, I was very disappointed, then ordered the country rips instead, the country rip was favorable and tastey for party of it, however other part of the meat were not cooked though, the meat were still red, once my knife reach that part, I had to stop right there. That just destroyed my appetite. See red on the steak is awesome but never on the pork. My friend and I are praying that we don’t get sick on this. The waitress was nice to take this order off our check. I have to say, it was a experience with mix view of the food there. I will not be in Chicago anytime soon, so not gonna going to Publican anytime soon in the future.

I have to say the reviews are deceiving. I am not sure who provides these reviews, but my experience was awful. The food is terrible for brunch. Unbearable noise, loud annoying music and quality of food was not there. I have not been here for lunch or dinner so can't comment, but brunch food was mediocre at best. I don't recommend for brunch. Honestly don't get the hype.

Tags: Worth the Drive, Casual, Fun, Creative Cuisine, Great Beer, Late-night Find, Special Occasion, Good for a Date, Good for Birthdays, Comfort Food, Tapas, Local Ingredients, Neighborhood Gem, Fit for Foodies

We had a 4 top and got lucky to sit at one of the high tops in the center of the room. Most of the diners sit at communal tables as other reviewers have described; others sit in stalls with doors that kindof like pig stalls... I was very glad we weren't in one of those! Our server was scarcely seen and it took a while to get our drinks refilled BUT the food was phenomenal and made up for that. Favs were the honeycrisp apple, avocado salad, pimento cheese + bread, and the half chicken. I never order chicken at restaurants and this was AMAZING! Make sure to order the fries extra crispy. Pork belly is my favorite dish everywhere and the meat was good but we didn't like the red peas and cabbage it sat on.

Went to Publican before a show, we ended up making a game time decision to do the tasting menu and I don't regret it. Appropriately priced at $65/person for a 9 course service (3 veggie, 3 seafood, 3 meat dishes) plus a dessert. The communal style tables make it great for a group or dinner with friends because there is an energetic atmosphere.

Tags: Fun, Local Ingredients, Good for Birthdays, Great for Brunch, Tasting Menu, Good for Groups, Pre/post Theatre

Was hoping for regular menu, but Sat. had the brunch only.Limited....waitress not very friendly, but still enjoyed mealwith friends/family. Bacon was incredible - waffle mediocre.Corn beef Hash unusually good.

I have never been disappointed when dining at the Publican. I moved to California 2 years ago and when I came back to Chicago to visit The Publican was one of my must go to restaurants. The food never disappoints and the service is second to none. I would recommend this place to everyone.

Tags: Neighborhood Gem, Worth the Drive, Great for Brunch, Creative Cuisine, Good for a Date, Fit for Foodies, Authentic, Special Occasion, Seasonal

Great Vibe, Awesome Service!We enjoyed a delicious meal: liver pate, bread board with tasty pimento cheese spread, outstanding presentation of beef tongue, finished off with the basque cake(yum)-all the flavours were over the moon. The only thing better than the food was the service-top notch!

Tags: Handcrafted Cocktails, Fit for Foodies, Casual, Creative Cuisine, Cozy, People Watching, Great Beer, Good for a Date, Hot Spot

This place would be perfect but for one massive and unnecessary flaw: noise level. The food is fabulous. The room is easy on the eyes. The service is skillful and restrained. The noise is night club turned up to ten. Why does this huge, high-ceilinged box of a room need piped RAWK music that nobody can hear clearly enough to savor and that just throws gas on the fire of bad acoustics in a crowded room?

Enjoyed brunch at the Publican. As usual, the place was packed on Sunday morning and the noise level was high. Food was delicious, service was good. Not a place for quiet conversation but you can talk with your friends at the table.

We had booth. Ordered 6 things for three people. Food was incredible. Our four favorites were pate. Squash amazing. Ribs and ham hoc. We over ordered but loved every dish. Service was impeccable. Highly recommend

Great night out different take as there is communal seating - do not be fooled by tapas or sharing plates - they serve very big portions - had the chicken which is phenomenal - next ever - treated us to a glass of champagne as it was our anniversary very nice touch will be back when we get back to Chicago

Tags: Fit for Foodies, Comfort Food, Good for Anniversaries, Good for Groups, Special Occasion

Dining setup allows for an energetic atmosphere. However, the restaurant gets very loud and it was difficult to hear the server and our others in our party of four. Rib was extremely fatty and difficult to pull apart/cut. Apple and sweet potatoe starter small plates pleased the group. Would return for an earlier reservation to beat the noise.

Set up like a high school lunch cafeteria. We were literally rubbing elbows with strangers. Greeting from hostess was cold. Food not bad. Would not return. I was in dog house with girlfriend for making this recommendation.

This restaurant has amazing food and service. Their food and coffee presentation is beautiful. The only reason I gave it 4 stars was because some of their seating involves sitting with strangers elbow-to-elbow with you. Literally. I could understand that seating if we had been a walk-in group, but we had a reservation. We will always come back and know now to request a booth.

Tags: Local Ingredients, Good for Groups, People Watching, Afternoon Coffee, Great for Brunch, Great for Lunch, Creative Cuisine, Neighborhood Gem

Attended as part of a work dinner. Rude, defensive and terrible service. Given one menu for a table of 12. Took forever before we could order a thing. Food was fantastic, however. While everyone in the party enjoyed the food, the lack of service put a notable damper on the evening. Not up to par with other experiences with this restaurant group.

Food was outstanding, service continuous and personal. Was a little pricey, but probably in line for the neighborhood. We had a lovely time. Was noisy - not a great place for quiet conversation. Definitely recommended.

Tags: Sunday Lunch, Good Vegetarian Options, Comfort Food, Good for Anniversaries, Good for Birthdays, Creative Cuisine, Great for Brunch, Pre/post Theatre

We have been to Publican many times and normally have a good experience. However , this time they had some computer glitch that lost all our waitress’s orders. We waited almost an hour and a half for our food. A manager came by eventually and explained what had happened and comped our drinks and appetizers- cutting our bill significantly. So I will give them the benefit of the doubt this time

I can't say enough about how good this food is. It's approachable but complex. The staff does a very good job guiding you through the menu and making sure you have a great time. Not terribly expensive either!

Tags: Good for Birthdays, Authentic, Cozy, Comfort Food, People Watching

The Publican has a vegetarian friendly designation, but I wouldn't recommend it for a vegetarian. I am vegetarian and gluten free and they did a great job accommodating me. The problem is that all the veggie dishes we had were quite acidic...it is really meant to be eaten with meat. My companion ears meat, but only got a few oysters because all the meat dishes are meant for sharing. Also, make sure to book a private table. The communal dining is a bit awkward .

Nick was our server, and he was amazing! I think he dared us to order the chef's choice, and I'm pretty sure he was standing with the chef as the plates kept coming, and they knew they beat us! Every dish was exactly what you didn't even know you wanted! It was so much, the only thing we could do was concede defeat and roll home! Worth every penny for amount of food, service and the overall experience!

The Publican has a well-done brunch menu that is not to miss. We had the crispiest hash browns and the house-made Nutella with grilled baguette was great. The egg dishes were phenomenal but our highlight was the cheesy spicy pork rinds. Whatever you do, do not forget to order those!

Tags: Worth the Drive, Fit for Foodies, Good for a Date, Great for Brunch

I️ have to say, I️ was thoroughly disappointed in the service at the Publican. My husband and I had been here years ago and remember it being a great experience, that was not the case last night. We brought our baby, and you would think we were asking for the world by needing a safe spot to put his car seat. They asked that we put him in the window sill? No thank you... we were then sat smack in the middle of a community table.. again, with a baby in a car seat.. not exactly convenient. I️ should also add that we made a reservation for 5:30 and when we arrived the place was dead. There was no reason we couldn’t have been sat at a table in the corner. Now for the menus, we sat down at 5:19, 11 minutes before the dinner menu came out. You would think that being so close they could offer the 5:30, dinner menu, but nope! We had to wait until exactly 5:30. Next, One of the guests we were dining with asked for a drink from the bar without alcohol, and our waiter told us that wasn’t possible! Are you kidding me??? I️ do not remember this place having so many rules, it makes for a really lousy dining experience. The food was good but honestly, this is chicago, the food HAS to be good. I️ will definitely not be back, due to the absolutely poor customer service.

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